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  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Sci-Fi Movies
  4. Star Wars Movies
  5. The Mandalorian & Grogu

The Mandalorian and Grogu director says The Phantom Menace inspired one cool, subtle detail in the new Star Wars movie

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By Lauren Milici published 11 June 2026

Moviegoers can catch the director's commentary in theaters now

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Star Wars The Phantom Menace
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Jon Favreau says The Phantom Menace inspired a tiny detail in The Mandalorian and Grogu.

In the in-theater director commentary, Favreau revealed that the red laser barriers in the stadium where Din Djarin is forced to fight Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) were inspired by the Duel of the Fates sequence in The Phantom Menace (H/T Laughing Place). Remember those laser gates on Naboo in the infamous fight scene where Obi-Wan Kenobi faces off against Darth Maul? It's a subtle reference, but a cool one nonetheless.

Favreau also revealed that the video game Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order was used as a reference for what the inside of an All Terrain Armored Transport, aka an AT-AT walker, looks like. The worlds depicted in various Star Wars graphic novels also helped the art team figure out what the planet of Nal Hutta should look like.

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Watch full video here:

The director commentary is available in over 6,000 US theaters via the TheaterEars app, and is currently only available in the United States. The commentary itself, and more, will likely arrive with the later streaming and VOD release of the film. As the movie is still in theaters, we likely have quite a while to wait before that happens.

The Mandalorian and Grogu is in theaters now. For more, check out our The Mandalorian and Grogu review, or see our guide on how to watch the Star Wars movies in order to get caught up on the galaxy far, far away.

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  • Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin and Baby Yoda in the snow in The Mandalorian and Grogu Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was used as inspiration for one major part of The Mandalorian and Grogu, Jon Favreau says
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Lauren Milici
Lauren Milici
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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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